Philippines named 'Best Host Tour Country' ahead of Miss Universe 2024 pageant
The Philippines made waves at the Miss Universe 2024 pageant as the country won a special award at the preliminaries.
After the preliminaries for the national costume, swimsuit, and evening gown segments concluded on Friday, Nov. 15, the Miss Universe organization handed out special awards to the national directors and contestants who went above and beyond to serve the organization.
The Philippines was honored with the Best National Host Tour Country award for the splendid welcome the country gave to current reigning Miss Universe Sheynnis Palacios in May 2024.
The award was received by pageant manager Jonas Gaffud on behalf of the Miss Universe Philippines organization, which is represented in the competition by Chelsea Manalo.
"True to our famed Filipino Hospitality, the Philippines was awarded Best Host Tour Country by the Miss Universe Organization during the Preliminary Competition," Miss Universe Philippines stated in their social media pages.
"An unexpected yet welcome feather in the cap of the organization that rolled out the red carpet and led the most touching and heartwarming welcome for Miss Universe 2023 Sheynnis Palacios during her visit to the Philippines," they added.
The organization expressed their gratitude for the award and hoped that "there’s more good news to come—soon!"
Below are the other special awards given by Miss Universe:
- Miss Congeniality: Jenelle Thongs from Trinidad and Tobago
- Best Skin Award: Stephanie Cam from Honduras
- Best National Director: Denis Dávila for Miss Universe Canada
- Best National Pageant: Nguyễn Thị Hương Ly for Miss Universe Vietnam
- Beyond The Crown: Yizette Cifredo for Miss Universe Puerto Rico
Half-Filipina and half-Bahraini beauty queen Shereen Ahmed became one of the seven silver finalists in the "Voice For Change" competition, which was introduced during last year's Miss Universe pageant.
The others were Aruba's Anouk Eman, Cayman Islands' Raegan Rutty, Eritrea's Snit Tewoldemedhin, Finland's Matilda Wirtavuori, Guinea's Saran Bah, and Thailand's Suchata Chuangsri.
The gold winners are Bolivia's Juliana Barrientos, Cambodia's Davin Prasath, and Guatemala's Ana Gabriela Villanueva.
The "Voice for Change" category lets delegates from around the world showcase their character and magnify the social causes they believe in. Winners were determined through an online vote and a selection committee.
The Miss Universe coronation night will be held in the Arena CDMX in Mexico City on Nov. 17 (Philippine time). The live telecast of the event will be aired on ABS-CBN's Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, Metro Channel, and iWantTFC.
Manalo is vying for the Philippines’ fifth crown after Catriona Gray (2018), Pia Wurtzbach (2015), Margie Moran (1973), and Gloria Diaz (1969).